Preview: Southampton vs. Millwall - prediction, team news, lineups

Southampton will be looking to get back on track in the Championship when they play host to Millwall on Saturday afternoon.

While the Saints occupy fourth spot in the standings, Millwall are down in 21st position, just one point above the relegation zone.

Match preview

Russell Martin would have always been wary of Southampton's prolonged undefeated streak coming to an end at some stage, yet he may not have envisaged two defeats in three matches.

Losing 3-1 at Bristol City came as a wake-up call, one that led to the Saints delivering three days later as they overcame West Bromwich Albion by a 2-0 scoreline at The Hawthorns.

However, despite seemingly being back on track, Southampton would see their 13-match unbeaten record at St Mary's come to an end on Tuesday as Hull City prevailed by a 2-1 scoreline.

Going 2-0 down in the first half ultimately did for the South Coast outfit, who are now back down in fourth position and two points adrift of second-placed Leeds United.

All is not lost, though, because with Leeds hosting leaders Leicester City on Friday night, victory on Saturday will see Southampton make up ground on one of those two teams.

Millwall, meanwhile, began the week with Joe Edwards in charge, but a run of just four wins from 19 matches led to the former Chelsea assistant being sacked earlier this week.

In a surprise turn of events, Neil Harris has left his role at Cambridge United to return to The Den, his former club as both a player and a manager.

Harris is tasked with ending a run of four successive defeats - the latest being 2-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday - to move Millwall away from the relegation zone.

The Lions now sit just one point above the bottom three at a time when 22nd-placed Queens Park Rangers host bottom side Rotherham United, creating a scenario where Millwall may end Saturday in a relegation spot.

Southampton Championship form:

• W
• W
• W
• L
• W
• L

Southampton form (all competitions):

• W
• W
• W
• L
• W
• L

Millwall Championship form:

• L
• D
• L
• L
• L
• L

Team News

Martin will inevitably ring the changes to his Southampton side having made four alterations before the hour mark against Hull.

Joe Aribo, Ryan Fraser, David Brooks and Che Adams are all pushing for opportunities in the final third, although it would come as a surprise if Adam Armstrong was someone to drop down to the substitutes' bench.

Martin will also hope to have Flynn Downes available again after injury and he would likely command an immediate recall.

Harris's first team selection is somewhat of an unknown at this stage, yet the limited time on the training pitch may see Millwall remain with a back three.

However, there are likely to be changes in personnel, with Brooke Norton-Cuffy, George Saville and Ryan Longman all pushing for opportunities.

Southampton possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Manning; Aribo, Downes, S. Armstrong; A. Armstrong, Adams, Fraser

Millwall possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; Leonard, Tanganga, Cooper; Norton-Cuffy, Honeyman, Saville, Wallace; Longman, Bradshaw, Flemming

We say: Southampton 3-0 Millwall

With Millwall starting a new phase another a different manager, they may play with a sense of freedom at St Mary's. Nevertheless, this is the ideal fixture for the Saints to get back on track, and it leads us to predict a dominant win for Martin's side.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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